Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.
~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
I am notoriously terrible at doing group work. I’ve been enjoying all of the “first day of school” photos in my Facebook feed the last few weeks. I have even laughed as a few of my colleagues in seminary posted their “first day of the semester” or “first day of internship” photos.
And as I smile, I am also grateful, that for the second year in a row, I am not starting classes during the month of September.
At least not classes that involve any kind of grading.
And one of the reasons for this, is that being out of graduate school, out of school in general, means that I don’t have to do any more group projects, no more group work for me!
Except one problem – as part of our faith, we’re sort of called to group work.
Nooooooooo.
Group work as part of faith
But I’m not in school anymore right? So why can’t I just do what I need to do on my own, things just go so much smoother that way!
Except not really.
When it comes to our work in faith, we really can’t do it alone, and when we do, we end up losing a big part of the point of what we’re doing.
An example of this was during Vacation Bible School. I took on more than I needed to from our service and youth team. Not because I didn’t have offers from our amazing leaders to help with the planning and the execution of those busy days, but because in my mind it would just be easier to do it alone.
But there was a problem. I actually needed help. After all the planning was finished, my brain was so frazzled, that I started losing things around my office.
What happens on our own
Stapler? No idea where that is.
Folder full of the flyers for VBS? Disappeared!
Car keys? Under my couch.
It was a little intense.
But thankfully, my service and youth team, my group, reached out and reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this.
They took on treats and games and helped to get the crafts organized.
Without them, our vacation bible school would not have been nearly the success it was.
And it was because of their help, their working together with me, that we were able to do so much.
Even after school, group work is still necessary.
This might be in a ministry project you’re working on, or maybe it’s just in a prayer group, or a bible study. We are called to work together, to be together as we live into God’s callings in our lives.
And sometimes we just need a kick in the pants to remember that.
What are things that you try to do on your own? Are there others you might be able to lean on? What groups are you part of? How might a group help you to achieve more than you imagined?
